VOL. CXXXIII—NO. 54 INSIDE

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VOL. CXXXIII—NO. 54

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2009

WWW.COLUMBIASPECTATOR.COM

Global Core to decrease class sizes

INSIDE

News, page 3 Debating Darfur Faculty and students engaged in heated dialogue on Tuesday evening about the role of international cooperation in the Darfur genocide.

Committee on Major Cultures discusses shift in lecture classes

Opinion, page 4

BY AMBER TUNNELL Spectator Staff Writer

Core identity

On the other hand, Morgridge emphasized that, “without mayoral control, they would’ve had to go to a community governance structure.” Morgridge suggested the need to think back to how education began in this country, mainly as a “very grassroots phenomenon.” “That tradition and heritage is still a big part of public education,” she said. Parents who filed the lawsuit pointed out a weakness in mayoral control, she added. Other city representatives remain unsure of the extent to which mayoral control caused the upset, though they agree on the need for greater parental involvement in decision-making processes. Ben Rosen, communications director for New York State Assemblyman Keith Wright, a democrat who represents Harlem, said of the decision to close schools that it’s “difficult to speculate

A year after the creation of the Columbia College Global Core requirement, faculty members are evaluating potential classes and looking to downsize large lecture courses to smaller seminars—neither of which have been simple tasks. The Global Core requirement, which replaced the Major Cultures requirement in 2008—a less Western-centric curriculum was one of the demands of the hunger strikers last fall—is intended to “address several world settings or cultures comparatively,” according to the University Web site. Students will also have the option of taking classes about “a specific culture or civilization, tracing its appearance and/or existence across a significant span of time and sometimes across more than one present-day country or region.” It is in the process of slowly shifting from large lecture courses to smaller seminars and increasing the number of Global Core courses offered. Patricia Grieve, the Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Professor of the Humanities and the chair of the Committee on the Core and the Committee on Major Cultures, said that the process of evaluation for potential future Global Core courses has been “both ... formal and informal.” Formally, she said, the Committee on Major Cultures, which oversees the Major Cultures requirement and will eventually become the Committee on the Global Core when the official curriculum change is fully implemented, will approve all courses for the College. But she added that “informal discussions” are also taking place among committee members, faculty, and students about the best way to pursue shaping the new requirements. Specifically, the committee speaks with faculty members in various departments to discuss courses they want to develop or that they think should be

SEE SCHOOL, page 3

SEE CORE, page 3

Columnists Adrian Haimovich and Vedant Misra wonder why the Core overlooks science as a means to answer fundamental questions of human existence. Rachel Valinsky / Staff Photographer

P.S. 241 | The Department of Education changed its initial plan to close P.S. 241 in Harlem and several other NYC public schools, but tensions remain over who should have control over the city’s public school system.

Mayoral control of public schools debated BY JESSICA HILLS Spectator Staff Writer

A&E, page 7 MoMA pays homage to a director’s vision A two-week retrospective of director Mike Nichols’ many films at MoMA proves that movies can be profound and intelligent, while still drawing audiences to the theaters.

A&E, page 7 A radical’s biographer to speak on campus Jeffrey B. Perry, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia, will discuss the life of Hubert Harrison, the subject of his new biography, at a lecture on Harlem radicalism.

Sports, page 10 Smooth transition for second baseman Freshman Jon Eisen appears to have made a relatively easy jump from high school to college and has already secured a spot as the Lions’ second baseman.

Retracted plans to close P.S. 241 and P.S. 194 in Harlem and P.S. 150 in Brooklyn has spurred debate about who should control the city’s public school system. After parents and community members sued the city’s Department of Education for not involving school boards in the decision to rezone these districts, the DOE announced early this month that it would not close down the three traditional public schools to replace them with charters as was originally planned. This may shed light on the citywide debate over mayoral control of New York City’s public schools. Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently brought education more officially under the purview of his office. While many cite improvements to public schools as results of Bloomberg made this change,

Treatment for mental illness takes many forms BY ADAM AKANT Columbia Daily Spectator

Andrew graduated high school near the top of his class and with an excellent academic record. He was also on drugs for most of it. “I just did all sorts of shit that fucked up my brain,” he said before proceeding to give a long list of illegal drugs he has taken. “Even last semester, I drank every day.” But Andrew’s problem isn’t just drug abuse—he was also recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder after spending several months in counseling. Andrew, CC ’12, who asked that his name be changed in order to avoid future ramifications for his career, is one of many Columbia students taking medication for mental illnesess like major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and social anxiety disorder. An American College Health

Sports, page 10 Light Blue looks to snap losing streak Columbia baseball takes on Fordham this afternoon in the Bronx. After losing three straight, the Lions hope to get back on track ahead of more division play this weekend.

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others find mayoral control at the root of controversies like the abrupt announcement of these school closings. City Councilmember Robert Jackson, a democrat who represents Morningside Heights, is the council’s education committee chair. According to his executive assistant, Sarah Morgridge,the DOE violated state law by failing to obtain the approval of the Community Education Council before changing school zoning lines. She said that this case is similar to several other instances when the DOE failed to observe protocol, one of the reasons people oppose mayoral control. For instance, Morgridge said, the state mandates that students get a certain number of hours of gym class in school each day, but not all schools in the city meet this standard. “I’m not blaming that gap entirely on mayoral control,” she said, “but the tendency to say, ‘I’m right. You have to go along with me’—that’s very much part of mayoral control.”

Association survey conducted in 2004 on 47,202 students at 74 campuses across the country reports that the number of students diagnosed with depression increased to 14.9 percent from 10.3 percent in 2000. Another A me r ic a n C ol le g e He a lt h Association study reports that in 2008, 43 percent of students had at some point in the previous year felt so depressed it was difficult to function and nine percent had thoughts of suicide. Despite increasingly widespread use of prescription for mental illness, the decision to medicate is often difficult for many students due to social stigmas, spiritual beliefs, and sometimes serious side effects. Those that do go on medication must also choose whether it will serve as a short-term fix or as a lifelong treatment. Initial dose Andrew sought help from Columbia’s Counseling and Psychological Services in September after feeling depressed during the first f e w we e k s of s c ho ol . Andrew recalls periods of being depressed in high school, but as he puts it, “I was too messed up to do anything about it.” But when faced with a more challenging workload and the pressures of a new environment, Andrew decided that he needed to seek help in college. According to officials, CPS and Furman Counseling Center at Barnard are designed to be temporary resources that can provide students with rapid access to care.

Photo Illustration by Jin Chen

Today

WEATHER 51 / 39

COLLEGE DAYS

SEE MEDICATION, page 2 Tomorrow

59 / 41

Sarah Gallagher / Staff Photographer

VARSITY SHOW | Columbia College Days, which include a preview of the Varsity Show, celebrate school spirit and include activities such as Tuesday night’s comedy show.

Despite recession, Amsterdam thrives BY AARON KIERSH Spectator Staff Writer Amsterdam Avenue between 115th and 125th Streets is a road of contradictions. Pat rons at t rendy c a fé s look out at red-brick public housing units. Students shop alongside residents of rentsubsidised public housing. And in the shadow of high-traffic Broadway, some proprietors have forged ahead, running successful businesses located between the edge of Columbia’s campus and Harlem’s main thoroughfare. The Met Foodmarket located at 1316 Amsterdam Avenue, across the street from the cityowned Grant Houses, breaks socioeconomic barriers, according the store’s manager, who goes simply by Ray. “This is a good neighborhood. You get a lot of everyone here. People who live on Broadway, Columbia students, and people on food stamps,” he said.

INDEX

News A&E

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Ray estimated that nearly a fifth of the store’s patrons depend on government aid, and his supermarket seems to internally mirror the neighborhood’s patchwork of cultures, which works out well for business, Ray said. “We’ve got a good mix. There are never any problems.” Still, other nearby businesses seem to be closing weekly on Amsterdam Avenue. They leave behind a graveyard of vacancies and raise questions about the ability of store owners to pay rent in a time of noticeably lower patronage. “So many places are closing on Broadway these days,” said Abraham Tekeste, manager of Massawa, an East African restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue and 121st Street. Bob Radivojevic, general manager of Café Fresh on 121st Street, said, “You’re not going anywhere if you’re here,” adding that “Amsterdam does not take you anywhere. There is not much going on above 118th Street.” Opinion Sports

4, 5 10

“It’s hard to get people here,” Radivojevic also noted, citing the few transportation stops on the street. Xueyu Pang, a School of E n g i ne er i n g a nd A ppl ie d Science Ph.D. candidate who will graduate in 2010, said of Amsterdam’s fare, “I prefer Broadway restaurants.” But Tekeste said that his own restaurant and other Amsterdam establishments can sometimes enjoy rents that are somtimes as little as half of their Broadway counterparts, and that the eastern locale may be a benefit though they are not met with equally busy foot traffic. “We cater to all segments of the population—sit down and take away—so there haven’t been many downs in the past eight years. The economy has hit us a little bit but not as bad as people may perceive,” he said of Massawa, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. SEE AMSTERDAM, page 3 Classifieds Contact Info

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